Welcome to Marta Becket, Save Us All!
We’ve spent the last two and a half months building the show, meeting each other, meeting Marta, and meeting ourselves. All of us connected to Marta in different ways– some of us as fellow dancers or performers, others as daughters or animal lovers, others just as people trying to make their own way through life. This place and process has become our shared world, the space of each of our hearts, a liminal place that is both Death Valley Junction and a black box theater in Middletown, Connecticut. We are so excited to invite you in and live here together with you for the 70 minutes of the show.
The core of this play is driven by questions about success and authenticity. How do we define success? What is keeping us from living as our authentic selves? As Anne Bogart writes in A Director Prepares, “Your growth as an artist is not separate from your growth as a human being: it is all visible” (118). With Marta Becket as our artistic inspiration, each member of the ensemble has crafted a narrative arc out of their own desire to grow in this way, simultaneously as both artists and humans. Taking creative and personal risks, or leaps of faith, has been essential to our process. Risk means something different to everyone, and taking a risk looks different for everyone.
You, as audience and participant, are the final ingredient of our collaboration. We hope our work sparks delight and reflection in your own attempts (and failures!) to grow closer to an authentic, desired self.
Enjoy!
Leo Kaplan and Joel Pau
Assistant Directors